No one questions a salesman

Ryan Trahan’s Joyride partnership is anything but a brand deal. He didn’t ask for money. He took equity instead: an opportunity to invest in a candy he genuinely believed could blow up. But the difference between Ryan and influencer brand-owners is that he had no intention of advertising anything. He wanted us involved.

He took fans through a 30-day launch period in which audiences voted on which flavors they liked the most. The highest scorers would go into mass production. The audience’s entertainment factor is in developing the candy that they’re going to buy.

Why would they not want to try something that they built themselves?

The Joyride partnership launch was called “My Last Video,” in which Ryan Trahan was the final man on Earth, fighting until his last breath to create low-sugar candy with no artificial ingredients.

When the product was displayed at the end, the audience didn’t need convincing. They were already emotionally invested in the story behind it. They want the candy, not because they have a sweet tooth, but because they want to support Ryan Trahan on achieving his goal, or save him from his sugar-induced coma.

The mission was doing the selling.

Ryan’s Penny Challenge series raised over $1.4 million for Feeding America. His 50 states challenge with his wife raised over $11.5 million for St. Jude's. His message translates regardless of what the brand-deal is. Ryan delivers. And he shows you exactly how.

Ryan isn’t “marketing.” He’s pitching fans a dream. He provides the context. He explains his blueprints for success. He vividly narrates every step. The final action is on us, and we deliver because of the story that’s been cultivated before we even know what the product is.

Ryan’s Instagram brand booster: “The Climb,” put Joyride at the #2 best selling candy in March 2025. But Ryan never asked anyone to buy. He once again utilized the “mission narrative” to its fullest extent.

On launch day, shoppers were encouraged to go to Target and repost themselves with the candy. The coordinated effort resulted in 1,733 Instagram tags in sixty minutes, breaking a Guinness World Record.

A purchase is a transaction. A mission is something people rally around. The difference is that when the customer acts, they don’t feel like they’re doing what they’re told. They feel like willing participants in a nationwide movement.

Trahan understood something that the majority of selling creators forget.

Who you are matters more than what you’re selling.